Mobile, 2007; v1.0.6, 320KB
What is it?

XIII: Covert Identity is a side-scrolling run-and-gun action game featuring a comic book agent with amnesia named XIII. The IP started as a comic book but was turned into a multiplatform console (and PC) game in 2003, which was published by Ubisoft. The game was known for its unique cartoon style, in that any screenshot from the game might look like it came from a comic book, right down to the words “tap tap tap” as someone walked across a floor. The animated look contrasted sharply against some of the violent content in the original game, which may have contributed to the game’s troubles moving off shelves. See also Killer 7.

How does it play?

Rather well. XIII 2 controls pretty tightly and the generous use of detailed animation gives the player a solid sense of what’s going on with XIII at all times. XIII’s agility really comes through in the controls, as he is able to edge forward or break into an immediate run, depending on how long you hold down the button. Jumps are handled in a similar fashion. Fortunately, ledge collisions are very forgiving, which means it’s not hard to do some pretty acrobatic leaps to safety as needed. Jumping can be hard to judge precisely, which can make some of the varied proximity mines spread through the environments pretty treacherous.

Most actions in the game are context-sensitive, which goes a long way to helping on the limited cell platform. Pushing up or down will do any number of things depending on where you’re standing, and your stance and aim while using a weapon will automatically adjust to your enemies. For example, if you’re dual-wielding automatic weapons, and enemies are closing on both sides, just press fire. If they’re only coming from behind you, just press fire. It may sound overly simplistic or easy, but it’s a good push to counterbalance that ever-present control hurdle.

The story is not critical, as the task in every stage is identical: run, shoot, pick up power-ups, repeat. Tokens are found tucked in corners and on platforms, and these can be used in the shop between stages to strengthen yourself and buy extra lives, much like in the Viewtiful Joe games.

How does it look and sound?

The environments are colorful and detailed, and the character animations are very complete. The attempt to look like a cartoon all but fails simply out of the fact that the screen is so small, but it succeeds in making the game look very clean and sharp. Screens of versions of the game for more powerful phones show a dramatic improvement still on the version I’m playing. Sound effects, where they are used, are suitable. There does seem to be only one ten-second song in the game though, which plays like a jingle at the beginning of every stage and sounds like the theme from the movie Rocky.

Stages are bracketed by a load screen with some story content on it in a font that could have been a little larger and more readable, but is not too bad.

How is the replay value?

Save up tokens for the two harder difficulty levels as you’re playing, because the game will be over sooner than you expect, and tokens can be hard to find. The reason I say this is because the game’s difficulty level is pretty low, and you’ll want to up that on subsequent playthroughs. Unlocking the two harder levels will extend the experience a bit, and I’m looking forward to giving those a try.

Is it worth it?

If you’re more of a retro gamer, and you dig this kind of sprite-based shooter/platformer thing, then this could be just the ticket. Depending on how much your mobile carrier wants for it, this is a pretty solid value. Ultimately, it would be so much better suited to a handheld gaming platform considering what it’s trying to do, but when you can’t get at your GBA, DS or PSP, this would be the next best thing.

XIII: Covert Identity for mobile phones gets three point five out of five.

Check out XIII: Covert Identity and Gameloft’s other mobile games at the official site.